1990 Evinrude 3HP, dies when throttle opened more than half

Beakster

Petty Officer 2nd Class
Joined
Jun 14, 2021
Messages
123
Hi,
I bought a 1990 3HP cdoe: e3bresr. It wasn't running but has 120psi on each cylinder.
I cleaned the carb out and put it back together. I can now get it started and it idles nicely enough. New fuel is in there and a pair of new RL82C plugs gapped at 0.035.

She starts up easy enough, and I can run around in idle. When I first started her I almost got to full throttle then it bogged down and died, then was difficult to restart.

There is only one adjustable needle on this motor which is labeled in the manual as the low speed needle. Anyone know how many turns this should be set to? Am I correct that this model has no high speed adjustment?

Anything I'm missing here? Should I just clean out the carb again and assume another piece of crud from the tank and blocked the main?

Another problem I have is the screw on top of the cowling which holds the starter mechanism in place comes loose every 5 pulls. There is an antishake washer in there. Should I loctite it?

Here's a pic of the motor on the boat. The water is just above the stripe. Is it feels like.ot should be a bit deeper. Am I using the correct motor for this boat?
 
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Beakster

Petty Officer 2nd Class
Joined
Jun 14, 2021
Messages
123
Cleaned the carb again, started her up, ran great for 30 seconds then like crap and wouldn't keep running. I'm going to let it sit over night then start again and see how it goes so I can tell if it's running poor once it gets warm.

Could this be points or coil? Or should I just clean the carb again?
 

Beakster

Petty Officer 2nd Class
Joined
Jun 14, 2021
Messages
123
Cleaned the carb again, started her up, ran great for 30 seconds then like crap and wouldn't keep running. I'm going to let it sit over night then start again and see how it goes so I can tell if it's running poor once it gets warm.

Could this be points or coil? Or should I just clean the carb again?
Let it sit over night. In the morning it still wouldn't run so decided it wasn't ignition components getting hot.

Cleaned the carb for a 3rd time, it looked fine inside, but once back on she fired up and ran well. Must have still been some crud in the system.
 

iggyw1

Ensign
Joined
Oct 24, 2011
Messages
954
Glad you finally got her running good. I rebuilt a carb on a motor I had (6 H.P. Evinrude) a five years ago and after I got it done, it ran terrible. Rebuilt it again with new parts. Same thin. The third time I rebuilt it, I used OEM parts instead of the cheap Chinese parts that I bought the first two times, and what a difference. I was trying to save money, and it cost me more in the long run. When I rebuilt it for the third time, it ran like a new motor and it was about 15 years old at the time. Still runs great today.
Also, even when cleaning a carb and not replacing any internal parts, there a very tiny holes that sometimes you need to clean them with a thin, fine wire like a piano wire or guitar string without damaging the holes in any way. Sometimes these little holes can cause a headache if not completely cleaned out properly. Also, check you float adjustment when putting things back together.
 

cyclops222

Lieutenant
Joined
Mar 21, 2024
Messages
1,299
NO ONE is forced to build GOOD replacement parts.
The cheap quality companies selling anything at high prices and low prices ? Could not care less. As they cruise on their yachts.
 

tphoyt

Lieutenant
Joined
Jun 10, 2010
Messages
1,260
You’re so right.
That’s why I always go OEM when possible.
I feel like these parts might just go through quality control and I’m will to pay a little extra for that.
 
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